My favorites were Hotchkiss, Groton and Lawrenceville in that order. Hotchkiss had 15+ different (not repeat) sessions during the year and I attended many of them. The weekly sessions touched on different aspects of community life. It was a well-planned and well-coordinated effort. I was amazed by the energy of admission officers, faculty members and students; everyone was contributing actively and came across very welcoming. There was excellent diversity in student discussions. Live Q&A sessions were very effective. Hotchkiss sessions had both ‘breadth and depth’ and I gained such an amazing perspective of the school by attending the sessions. During a regular in-person school tour, I don’t think I could have benefited even 20% of what I gained from many info sessions of Hotchkiss. From every session, I got a positive vibe of the Hotchkiss community and its culture, and hats off to the Hotchkiss Admission team for their fantastic efforts.
Groton’s admission team also put in a really good show by sharing different aspects of their offerings and engaging students and faculty members actively. The strong community feeling of school was evident in the sessions. Lawrenceville’s sessions were also very interesting and informative. They started a bit late in the application cycle and I was wondering if they were ever going to have any sessions. The quality of sessions and information provided was excellent. The admission officers, faculty and students who participated were amazing!
When the admission cycle started, it seemed SPS admission team was very proactive. They were the first one to make the SSAT test optional and waive the application fees. But then, the momentum seemed to slow down considerably. To start with, their info sessions were very few in number, and too short. It was pretty much one way street (webinar) with limited opportunity to ask questions. The best session was the one where the students participated and shared their SPS experiences. Overall SPS teaching and student community is amazing, but info sessions could not convey that.
I expected far more from Andover and Exeter, given their resources. They had many repeat sessions related to virtual visit, info sessions, financial aid, etc. Exeter’s admission team was amazing, as they always offered to stay longer than the regular scheduled slots, if people had questions. Andover also had a few good sessions (especially virtual arts, performing arts, essays). The Andover Day was also nicely coordinated. Some of the sessions were great, but there were too many sessions for one day, and it became overwhelming. Looking at Exeter and Andover website, boths schools have such amazing offerings and the info sessions could have focused on more variety and breadth.